The Oven Saga

Not long after we moved into our new home in March I noticed that a lot of heat was escaping the oven when I baked anything. In particular, the front panel (where the knobs are) would get extremely hot. After my four year old touched that panel once and burned her fingers, I started researching if there was a way to fix it. After several unsuccessful Google searches, I ended up emailing Whirlpool for advice on how to handle the situation which set off a series of complicated and extremely frustrating events. Below is the timeline for your enjoyment.

March 3: Move into new home, relish the new (to us) appliances.

May 9: I emailed Whirlpool to ask if they can help me, mentioning the four year old’s burned fingers.

May 12: Marti from Whirlpool emails me back and asks me to call her. I spend 30 minutes on the phone with her. She tells me that since this is a safety issue the cost of the repair will be covered by Whirlpool. She also lectures me on how to keep my children safe in the kitchen. I bite my tounge. I set up an appointment for someone to come look at the stove.

May 16: Carlos from Whirlpool Factory Service comes to my home and diagnoses the problem as the oven needing new hinges. He spends most of his time on the phone with someone trying to convince them that I should pay for this repair. He tells me that there is no reason for Whirlpool to cover this, but because Marti said they would he doesn’t charge me. He orders the parts for me and tells me to set up another appointment for someone to come and do the repair work.

May 20: Nick from Whirlpool Factory Service calls to say that the parts were delayed due to the fires around San Diego and I will need to reschedule the repair.

May 27: A nice man (I forgot his name) from Whirlpool Factory Service comes, takes the oven door completely apart and replaces the hinges. He also compliments my parenting. He wins my favor. Unfortunately his work did not.

May 30: I’m baking bread and my oven falls apart. The front glass falls onto the floor. Then handle comes off in my hand. It’s a Friday evening, so I email Whirlpool and attach a picture.

June 4: Anne from Whirlpool emails back and asks me to call her. I do. She schedules someone to come back to put the oven together.

June 5: Carlos from Whirlpool Factory Service comes back. He looks at the oven and tells me that the previous work done on the oven and the oven falling apart are not related. He tells me that “ovens that are 10-15 years old like this one” will need repairs. I remind him that the oven is 6 years old. He says that if I want it fixed, I will have to pay for it and it will cost $278. After trying to convince him that the two incidents were related and him being rather rude to me, I tell him I will think about what I want to do next. He leaves and I call Anne back. She is astounded as to why he would try to charge me, gives me an authorization number for the repair, orders the parts that Carlos said we needed, and sets up another service appointment. Anne was very helpful.

June 13: I wait at home through the 8-12 appointment window. At the end of the window, I call Whirlpool Factory Service. After 20 minutes on hold, the person tells me that the repairman is running late and should be there by 1:30. A few minutes later, the repairman calls and says that he will be there around 3 or 4pm “but definitely today.” Around 3pm he calls back and says that he will not be able to make it that day and I will need to reschedule. He tells me that there was some sort of accident and another repairman was injured. I call to make another appointment and am on hold for another 20 minutes.

June 19: Joon from Whirlpool Factory Service comes to fix the oven. He gets here and tells me that he doesn’t have the parts needed to fix it and that he will have to order them. I work very hard to not strangle him, as he is very polite and seems to feel bad about the situation. He says he will order the parts and have them shipped to me and when I get them I should call to set up an appointment for the repair.

June 21: I host a party without baked goods. A birthday party without cake. A bit of my soul died. My 8 year old created a party game called Pin the Repairman on the Oven. It was a big hit.

June 24: I come home to a box on my doorstep and am excited about the possibility of finally getting my oven in working order again. I open the box and find, instead of a piece of trim and a handle, two pieces of trim. One of the pieces was cracked. I called Whirlpool Factory Service and was told that they couldn’t help me, but I should call back in the morning.

I’m not sure if Whirlpool is really that incompetent or if they are starting to troll me. Everyone that I have dealt with (except Carlos) has been amazingly nice, but nice won’t bake bread. I really, really want to bake some bread (and cookies and potatoes and cupcakes and muffins and lasagna and pizza and brownies).

***edited for update***

June 25: Call Whirlpool Factory Service again, after 15 minutes on hold, I explain the situation briefly to Beverly who puts me back on hold to try to figure out what’s going on. She says that the technician ordered two pieces of trim and that the handle should be coming today. She also said that they will send another piece of trim to replace the one that is cracked. I explained to her that there is only space on the oven for one piece of trim. She replied that the technician ordered it so they must need it. I decided not to argue.